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Monday, July 23, 2012

PNoy's 3rd SONA: Did He Improve?

Okay, first of all, I am no expert in political stuff nor am I that good in making speeches. But I do know how to organize a story well, so here are my thoughts off President Benigno Aquino III's SONA for the year 2012.

First of all, if you compare this one to his previous State of the Nation Addresses (2010 and 2011), I personally think there is more substance. Not saying that because its duration is an hour and a few minutes (his longest SONA so far), but also because he has touched a wide variety of branches of the government and the nation. He didn't go for his old-time-favorite "cheesy lines" like stupid teleseryes and soap operas. He went for real facts and figures. In short, for me, he definitely improved.

Now people might be questioning a lot about those figures, like "oh that's not everything, there are other areas that aren't touched by his programs". Well I say, I think it's much better than not doing anything. I mean, if you put yourself in his shoes, and given the full responsibility to feed billions of people in the nation and give them services and jobs, how would you feel?

"There is no perfect president", I once mentioned in one of my earlier posts. It goes hand in hand with "no one is perfect". Before you criticize his political reign, you should first test yourself if you can handle all those papers, signatures, meetings, debates, and all those really complicated stuff that seem like you're holding a large boulder behind your back.

I think I can compare PNoy's situation to many celebrities and musicians who are always bashed and criticized (I already mentioned them in my previous posts anyway). Criticizing isn't something you just spit out of your mouth unless you actually know what you are saying. For example, you're saying that a singer is off-tune on stage when you yourself cannot sing well in front of a live audience. Now that's just plain unfair.

You cannot always expect the president to do whatever you want and please everybody. Not all celebrities can reply to every fan on Facebook or Twitter. In the same way, not all the time can the President do all of our requests. This is simply because everything should be studied and tested if it will be a long-term solution. And another thing is that, whether you are a celebrity, a musician, a government official, or just a plain old worker, everyone can get busy at times, even students.

The ones who criticize are mostly those people who do not do anything to improve their lifestyle. Some city squatters complain about PNoy's lack of support for the poor. Why can't they just stay in the province instead of making themselves suffer in the noisy, polluted and discriminative urban areas. Even carpenters and farmers can enjoy a healthy and progressive life with their family if they just didn't become selfish and worked harder. After all, too much noise and traffic can always cause stress and, of course, unwanted crimes.

People should think first before they speak. Many new infrastructures have been built in our province. Many criminals have been jailed. Many trees have been planted and many roads have been improved. And if there are still corrupt officials today, then they are sure to be of lower number than the last few years.

And another thing worth noting is memorizing a 40-page State of the Nation Address. Even the Former President (and now Congresswoman) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo couldn't memorize a figure-packed speech and tends to look at her cheating sheets. Memorizing something that long, for me, is totally epic, based on my experience in speech contests and some declamations. I could never ever do such a thing.

Maybe it is really the time we stop slacking and complaining about our dinner and help out our family to set the table and cook some of the dishes. Maybe it's also time that we help in washing the dishes early so that if the water runs out (our water has an everyday schedule of 11PM to 11AM), you won't have any regrets.